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Here are all the best Cointreau drinks, including classic cocktails like margaritas, sidecars, and cosmopolitans! These recipes with the orange liqueur come out balanced and refreshing.
Looking for mixed drinks for a bottle of Cointreau? Cointreau is an orange liqueur with an citrus perfume flavor, invented over 100 years ago. You can drink it straight, but it’s most well known for being used in Cointreau drinks like the Margarita and Cosmopolitan.
My absolute favorite Cointreau cocktail is my classic margarita! But there are lots of other great drinks that use this citrus-forward, lightly sweet liqueur.
My top Cointreau drinks
Arguably the most famous of all Cointreau drinks is the margarita! The classic way to make a margarita is defined on the International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails. It's got just three ingredients and a salt rim. Also try all my Top Margarita Recipes (Mezcal, Strawberry, Jalapeño and more).
Ingredients: Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice
Here’s one of the very best Cointreau drinks: the Sidecar! This classic cocktail is perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, with just the right edge from the boozy Cognac. It’s a complex, layered drink: warm, crisp, dry, rich, and full at the same time. Also try a Vodka Sidecar, Bourbon Sidecar, or Between the Sheets.
Ingredients: Cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice
It’s got a brilliant pink color and tangy, refreshing flavor: it's the Cosmo! This sour cocktail is sweet tart and its beautiful color is reason in itself to make it. Here's a modern spin with Cointreau that's perfectly balanced and just sweet enough.
Ingredients: Vodka, 100% cranberry juice, lemon juice, Cointreau, simple syrup
This smooth, citrus-forward classic Cointreau drink has a sophisticated vibe. The 1920’s style sour cocktail is clear and crisp, with a refreshing flavor and a frothy egg white foam topping. It’s classy and perfect for a cocktail night or just sipping on the porch.
Ingredients: Gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, egg white
Here’s a drink that doesn't commonly have Cointreau, but it adds the perfect touch! This mimosa recipe uses Prosecco instead of champagne for a sweeter, nuanced flavor, and add a dash of Cointreau to add an orange perfume flavor to the sweet bubbles.
Ingredients: Orange juice, Prosecco, Cointreau
Here's a Cointreau drink with a pure, zippy flavor: a lemon drop martini! This zingy vodka martini is perfectly balanced and refreshingly tart, served with a sugar rim and a lemon twist. It looks so festive that it’s great for celebrations and cocktail hour.
Ingredients: Vodka (or Citron vodka), Cointreau, lemon juice, simple syrup
Here's a signature Cointreau drink for your next gathering: a Pomegranate Martini! Crisp, sweet tart, fruity, and light: it’s closer to a Cosmo than the classic martini. Serve it up in a martini glass and you’ve got a sophisticated cocktail that’s refreshing and easy to drink.
Ingredients: Vodka, Pomegranate juice, lemon juice, Cointreau, simple syrup
The Cadillac Margarita is a sophisticated version of the classic Cointreau drink. Float Grand Marnier on top of your classic margarita and its nuanced flavor that will make everyone say, “Wow! What’s in this?” It’s a great way to step up your cocktail game with very little effort.
Ingredients: Grand Marnier, Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice
The real Mai Tai is nothing like those overly sweet resort drinks. This 1940s classic is breathtakingly complex, featuring rum, orange liqueur, and orgeat (almond syrup).. I use Cointreau in my Mai Tai and it works beautifully. The orange liqueur adds citrus brightness that balances the rich aged rum and sweet orgeat.
Ingredients: Aged rum, dark rum, Cointreau (or Grand Marnier), lime, orgeat syrup
This classic 1920s cocktail deserves more attention than it gets. Named after the famous Pegu Club in Burma, it's a boozy, sophisticated gin cocktail with citrus and herbal notes. The Cointreau adds just enough sweetness to round out the sharp lime and gin, while the bitters provide an herbal complexity. It's refreshing without being too sweet, making it perfect for sipping slowly.
Ingredients: Gin, Cointreau, lime juice, bitters
What Makes Cointreau Special
Cointreau is a triple sec, which means it’s been triple distilled. It was created in 1875 in France, and it’s from a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels. This gives it a more complex flavor profile than standard triple sec.
I find that Cointreau works well in cocktails because it has a balanced sweetness and pure citrusy flavor. It’s strong enough to hold its own with tequila, vodka, and cognac.
The key difference between Cointreau and other orange liqueurs is the quality of ingredients. It’s more expensive than triple sec, but it has a more refined orange flavor.
Storing Your Cointreau
Cointreau has a long shelf life thanks to its alcohol content. Store it in your liquor cabinet at room temperature. It’ll stay fresh for a few years, though I always seem to use mine up well before then.
Cointreau doesn’t contain dairy or fresh ingredients, so you don’t need to refrigerate it. Just keep the bottle tightly sealed when storing it.
Related: What’s the Best Cointreau Substitute?
More types of cocktails
Outside of these Cointreau drinks, there are many more great cocktail recipes! Here are some of our best drink collections:
- Sour Cocktails All the very best sours: Whiskey Sour, Sidecar, even the Margarita and Mojito.
- Gin Cocktails All the classics: Gin Fizz, Gin and Tonic, and more!
- Bourbon Cocktails Try these bourbon greats: the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and more.
- Champagne Cocktails These cocktails are light and bubbly! Perfect for celebration.
- Cranberry Cocktails Cranberry cocktails are so refreshing, like Vodka Cranberry and Sea Breeze.
- Frozen Alcoholic Drinks Cool off with Frose or Frozen Sangria.
I LOVE your website…I am learning to make some of my favorite drinks!!!
I had my first Sidecar cocktail at Cafe Margaux in Downtown Cocoa, Fl. I was with “great friends” and had to resist ordering more… until there supply ran out… BECAUSE, THE DRINK IS FRICKIN’ DELICIOUS!!!